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Port Meadow, Oxford
Port Meadow is a large meadow of open common land beside the River Thames to the north and west of Oxford, England. Overview The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and according to legend has never been ploughed, at least for around 4,000 years. It is said that in return for helping to defend the kingdom against the marauding Danes, the Freemen of Oxford were given the of pasture next to the River Thames by Alfred the Great who, legend has it, founded the city in the 10th century (although Alfred actually died in the 9th century). The Freemen's collective right to graze their animals free of charge is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and has been exercised ever since. The meadow runs from Jericho to Wolvercote (where north of the Shiplake Ditch it becomes Wolvercote Common) along the east (left) bank of the River Thames, with the Cotswold Line railway, the Oxford Canal and the suburb of North Oxford further to the east, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period. Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford. The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. The university rose to dom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Oxford
North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The leafy roads of Woodstock Road to the west and Banbury Road to the east (leading to Woodstock and Banbury respectively) run north-south through the area, meeting at their southern ends to become St Giles. North Oxford is noted for its schools, especially its private schools. These include the Dragon School and Summer Fields (formerly Summerfield), which are preparatory schools, and St Edward's School and the Oxford High School for Girls, which are secondary schools, as well as St. Clare's, Oxford, an international sixth form college which is the longest provider of the International Baccalaureate Diploma in England (source ISA) Geography The boundary of "North Oxford" is not exactly defined, but the original area developed by St John's C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isis (river)
"The Isis" () is an alternative name for the River Thames, used from its source in the Cotswolds until it is joined by the Thame at Dorchester in Oxfordshire. It derives from the ancient name for the Thames, ''Tamesis'', which in the Middle Ages was believed to be a combination of "Thame" and "Isis". Notably, the Isis flows through the city of Oxford. Rowing The name "Isis" is especially used in the context of rowing at the University of Oxford. A number of rowing regattas are held on the Isis, including Eights Week, the most important Oxford University regatta, in the Trinity term (summer), Torpids in the Hilary term (early spring) and Christ Church Regatta for novices in the Michaelmas term (autumn). Because the width of the river is restricted at Oxford, rowing eights normally have a staggered start near Donnington Bridge and must then aim to "bump" the eight in front (i.e. catch up and touch or overlap with it sufficiently). The leading eight aims to "row over" (i.e. fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Meadow Horses In Mist
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchester and Duluth; these access the sea via rivers or canals. Because of their roles as ports of entry for immigrants as well as soldiers in wartime, many port cities have experienced dramatic multi-ethnic and multicultural changes throughout their histories. Ports are extremely important to the global economy; 70% of global merchandise trade by value passes through a port. For this reason, ports are also often densely populated settlements that provide the labor for processing and handling goods and related services for the ports. Today by far the greatest growth in port development is in Asia, the continent with some of the world's largest and busiest ports, such as Singapore and the Chinese ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council is the lower-tier local government authority for the city of Oxford in England, providing such services as leisure centres and parking. Social Services, Education and Highways services (amongst others) are provided by Oxfordshire County Council. Overview Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition. In 2006 these roles were reversed, although two years later the council returned to being run by a minority Labour administration.Election 2008: Oxford council , 2008 before they took full control in 2010. Despite the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishment and maintenance of reserved areas for animals date bac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burgess Field
Burgess Field Nature Park (also known as Burgess Field) is a nature reserve next to Port Meadow, Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England, managed by Oxford City Council. Overview The site is between Port Meadow to the west and the railway line to the east, just north of the Aristotle Lane entrance to Port Meadow and the Trap Ground Allotments. The reserve is on a reclaimed landfill site and is approximately in area. There are open grass areas, some woodland, and a path around the edge of the site, as well as some paths crossing the site. Wildlife includes birds such as cuckoo, short-eared owl and jack snipe. The site was used for landfill until the 1980s and is thus higher than Port Meadow, which regularly floods. The area was landscaped, with trees and hedge planting in the 1990s. The name may derive from the burgesses who endowed Godstow Nunnery with land. John Thompson The site includes a memorial stone to John Thompson (1941–2015), the city of Oxford's landscape architect, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buttercup
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe, North America and South America. The familiar and widespread buttercup of gardens throughout Northern Europe (and introduced elsewhere) is the creeping buttercup ''Ranunculus repens'', which has extremely tough and tenacious roots. Two other species are also widespread, the bulbous buttercup ''Ranunculus bulbosus'' and the much taller meadow buttercup ''Ranunculus acris''. In ornamental gardens, all three are often regarded as weeds. Buttercups usually flower in the spring, but flowers may be found throughout the summer, especially where the plants are growing as opportunistic colonizers, as in the case of garden weeds. The water crowfoots (''Ranunculus'' subgenus ''Batrachium''), which grow in still or running water, are sometimes tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ice Skating
Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be performed on naturally frozen bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes, canals, and rivers, and on man-made ice surfaces both indoors and outdoors. Natural ice surfaces used by skaters can accommodate a variety of winter sports which generally require an enclosed area, but are also used by skaters who need ice tracks and trails for distance skating and speed skating. Man-made ice surfaces include ice rinks, ice hockey rinks, bandy fields, ice tracks required for the sport of ice cross downhill, and arenas. Various formal sports involving ice skating have emerged since the 19th century. Ice hockey, bandy, rinkball, and ringette, are team sports played with, respectively, a flat sliding puck, a ball, and a rubber ring. Synchronized skating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiddler's Island
Fiddler's Island is an island in the River Thames at Oxford in England. It is situated south of Port Meadow on the reach above Osney Lock. The north part of the island sits between the River Thames and the top end of Castle Mill Stream, a Thames backwater. Fiddler's Island Stream flows to the east of the southern part of the island. To the south of the island, there is a short stretch of water known as the Sheepwash Channel linking back to the Castle Mill Stream and the Oxford Canal. The Thames Path runs the length of the complete island. At the northern end, the island has a row of trees along it. On the Castle Mill Stream side there is extensive mooring. The rainbow-shaped Medley Footbridge crosses the main stream of the Thames to the west at the northern end and a flat iron Bailey bridge crosses Castle Mill Stream further south, linking it to Port Meadow to the east. A small footbridge takes the Thames Path along the bank towards Osney Bridge. The northern part of Fiddler's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Site Of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I". Selection and conservation Sites notified for their biological interest are known as Biological SSSIs (or ASSIs), and those notified for geological or physiographic interest are Geological SSSIs (or ASSIs). Sites may be divided into management units, with some areas including units that are noted for both biological and geological interest. Biological Biological SSSI/ASSIs may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flood-meadow
A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding.Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014). Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century. ''Nordic Journal of Botany'' 32 (6): 858–70 Flood-meadows are distinct from water-meadows in that the latter are artificially created and maintained, with flooding controlledEmma Rothero, Sophie Lake, David Gowing, eds. Floodplain Meadows – Beauty and Utility: A Technical Handbook' (Floodplain Meadows Partnership; 2016) on a seasonal and even daily basis. Examples Austria: * Hohenau an der March Bosnia and Herzegovina: * List of karst polje in Bosnia and Herzegovina Estonia: * Emajõe flood-meadow * Kasari, Matsalu National Park Finland: * Mattholmsfladan, Pargas * Levänluhta, Isokyrö Ireland: * Shannon Callows United Kingdom: * Angel & Greyhound Meadow, Oxford * Christchurch Meadows, Reading * Christ Church Meadow, Oxford * Mill Meadows, Hen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
